Dawit of Abyssinia

Dawit of Abyssinia (1082-) was the king of the Zagwe dynasty from 1093, succeeding Kedus II Harbe of Abyssinia.

Biography
Dawit was born in 1082, and he was a son of King Kedus Harbe of Abyssinia. His father committed suicide in 1084, leaving Dawit's oldest brother Yemrehana II Krestos of Abyssinia as the new king. He died at the age of 15 after a short period of illness in 1087, and the next brother became Kedus II Harbe of Abyssinia. Dawit became Kedus Harbe's heir apparent, as he was the last of the brothers that could inherit the throne.

Dawit had little respect for the succession of his family, and a group of nobles led by Duke Tewodros of Gojjam gathered around him, forming a faction of partisans that named Kedus II Harbe a pretender and Dawit the rightful king. In November 1093, Kedus Harbe was forced to step down to his younger brother, who inherited the throne at the age of 11. Dawit then became the new king, and he was immediately faced by warfare with Axum, whose king Dawit II of Axum sought to take advantage of the instability in Abyssinia to press de jure ducal claims on the Duchy of Ankober.